Time Travel Is Not My Idea of Vacation…
by Acidwing
Summary: …or Maybe It Is. "We don't want to accidentally change the past. I kinda like the way my life turned out."
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: What the Hell Happened?

Ishida Uryu blearily opened his eyes and stared in confusion at the familiar black sky and countless sand dunes. What was he doing in Hueco Mundo? …And why did his head feel like it was filled with cotton?

With a groan he tried to move when an answering groan nearby attracted his attention. The Quincy barely managed to turn his head and focus his gaze on a familiar orange-haired figure dressed in a black coat.

"…Kurosaki?" he rasped, his throat feeling drier than the desert around them.

"Ishida?" His friend stopped moving and turned to him with a blank look. "…Why did you activate Vollstandig?"

Only when it was mentioned did Uryu notice the bright blue glow and he stared at the constructs splayed awkwardly at his sides. The reishi-gathering wings twitched slightly under scrutiny but refused to move. The brunette tried to find some reason for using the ultimate Quincy technique but his treacherous memory showed only empty space in place of recent events. Unable to find the answer, Ishida replied with a question of his own. "Why are you in Resurreccion?"

"I'm not-" the orange-haired hybrid started to say raising one hand to his face automatically but paused as his fingers brushed one curved horn. "Oh, I am," he said in wonder. "Why?"

"That's what I'm asking, Kurosaki!" Ishida bristled trying to sit up. If only his head stopped spinning so much…

Trying and failing to stand up, Ichigo once again fell to his knees and growled, "Quit yelling, Ishida!" Unfortunately, raising his voice proved to be a mistake. At another stab of headache he groaned in misery. "What the hell happened?"

Uryu had finally managed to sit up using his wings as crutches. "Question of a century, Kurosaki. I have no idea."

Ichigo rubbed his temples with annoyance and directed the same question inwards.

**'Hell if I know, Kingy,'** the distorted voice of his Hollow replied. **'But this place is _trashed_.'**

'Is this why I feel like crap?'

'It is the only explanation, Ichigo. Unlike the wounds inflicted upon your body or the reiryoku depletion, the damage to your mind is slow to heal.'

Great. So some time earlier he was injured _and_ with lower than normal reiryoku level? It's not like he wasn't used to it or something, but still… 'What the hell happened?' he repeated once again.

He got the impression of Zangetsu shaking his head. 'Our memories are damaged as well. Do not worry though, they will return in time.'

With a sigh Ichigo dragged one clawed hand through his orange mane and turned to his Quincy friend. "Zangetsu says our memories will come back but he has no idea what happened to us."

Nodding in reply, Ishida had finally managed to haul himself to his feet, his bright blue wings plowing through the sand behind him. Thankfully, in the semi-dormant state they were now, the constructs neither drained the reishi from his surroundings nor required much energy to maintain. Still, they were quite bothersome, so Uryu quickly dismissed them as the Sanrei Glove reformed on his right hand. Pushing his glasses to the bridge of his nose with one finger, he asked, "So what do we do in the meantime?"

Ichigo shrugged, scratching his head. "I suppose, I can open a Garganta, but I'm not sure I can direct it. Not yet anyway. And travelling through the shadows is an all around bad idea." He grimaced slightly. Navigating through shadows had always been a pain in the ass even _without_ the horrendous headache he had now.

"…To Las Noches then?"

Ichigo snorted. "Yeah, right. If you tell me, where Las Noches _is_, then sure."

"Then what do you propose?" the dark-haired Quincy snapped. "Find some Hollows and ask them for directions?"

Kurosaki froze, about to snap back. "You know…" he said slowly, "…that's not a bad idea. Actually, why don't we ask them to make a Garganta to Karakura? It's not like we can't bully some Adjuchas if they refuse to help us. Let's go!"

* * *

Something extremely cold was shaking her. 'The snowmen are attacking!' Orihime thought with her usual logic and forced herself to wake up, ready to fight the evil carrot-nosed, bucket-wearing, broom-wielding monsters.

"Finally, you are awake!" the snowman- no, snow_woman_ exclaimed.

Inoue stared in confusion at her enemy who looked somewhat familiar. Very familiar, actually…

"Hey, Orihime, are you alright?"

The concerned voice had finally registered in her mind and the bright-haired girl nearly facepalmed at her own stupidity. "Rukia?" she asked weakly. "Why are you in Yugo no Bankai?"

"I woke up like that," the other girl responded. "No idea what happened, but there has to be some reason for it, so until I find it, I'm not going to power down."

Inoue nodded in agreement and glanced around. They were in a small forest clearing, the tree trunks blocking sight in all directions. She looked up at the clear blue sky. Maybe if she went above the trees…?

It seemed that the Shinigami had followed her train of thought. "I couldn't see anything from up there either, just this forest. The only thing I know is we are somewhere in Rukongai." At the confused look from the human the youngest Kuchiki explained, "The Living World does not have this many spirit particles and it's obviously not Hueco Mundo, so we have to be in Soul Society. There are no forests in Seireitei, so we must be in Rukongai, not that it helps our case much. This place is enormous."

"So we are lost?" Orihime whispered sadly but quickly perked up, "Then let's become _un_lost!"

* * *

There was something lying across his chest, Chad noted absentmindedly and opened his eyes. He found himself on the stone floor of a cave and the thing on top of him was- actually, he had no idea what it was. It was long, thin and segmented. The grey segments looked similar to vertebrae and felt like bone to the touch. To his left they kept getting smaller and the strange thing was only a foot long. To his right though the segments were slowly growing bigger and the snake-like thing curved away from his field of vision so he couldn't see where it ended.

Chad wrapped both hands around the strange thing and tugged it slightly. The segments separated with ease, but a few seconds later glowed with red light that snapped them back together. Interesting. He tugged them apart again and watched as the thing repaired itself. Something was very familiar about it but for the life of him, Chad couldn't remember what.

As he separated the segments for the third time, the young man gripped them firmly, keeping the vertebrae from reattaching. The thing twitched.

"Let go of my tail, dammit!" the irritated voice snarled and Chad was suddenly face-to-maw with enormous snake skull. The jaws snapped open at almost 180-degree angle revealing the familiar tattooed face inside the skull-like helmet.

"Renji," the gentle giant greeted finally recognizing the Yugo no Bankai form of his friend.

"My tail, Sado," the Shinigami growled.

Chad lowered his gaze to where he was still holding the segments separated. Feeling slightly foolish he let go of them. The red reiatsu threads rejoined the disconnected part of the tail with the main body and Renji rubbed the abused segments glowering at Chad with suspicion. "The hell was that for?"

The embarrassed blush went almost unnoticed on the dark skin. "I apologize. I don't think I was completely awake."

"Huh. At least you are awake_ now_." The Shinigami paused. "…Or are you?"

The tall man stood up and shook his head slightly trying to clear his thoughts then nodded decisively. "I am."

"Good for you," the redhead said coiling his long snake-like body, "because we are in Hueco Mundo. Menos Forest, I think."

Chad took a few seconds to process the information. "What are we doing here?" A moment later he did a double take, finally noticing his own arms. "…Why am I in Fullbring?"

Renji shrugged. "Beats me."

Silence stretched again as both young men tried to find the answers to those questions in their patchy memory. Finally, the Sixth Division Lieutenant asked, "What's the last thing that you remember?"

His companion tilted his head to the side then frowned. "Nothing much," he admitted. "I remember the one-year anniversary of the end of the Blood War, but…"

"…But not much else, right?" Renji sighed, crossing his arms with irritation. "I remember that we were celebrating. Did we honestly get so drunk that we can't even remember anything?"

"It could have happened, but I don't feel hangover. And it doesn't explain why we are here of all places."

"…Drunk people do stupid things?" the currently snake-like Shinigami offered.

Chad thought this over then shrugged. "Until we have a better explanation."

Renji tapped his bone armor with one claw, deep in thought. "How do we get out of here? I don't remember where the passage from here to the desert is, and Senkaimon won't open in this place."

"We search," was the only answer that Chad offered before he vanished in a green flash of Bringer Light. Yelling angrily for his friend to wait, Renji snapped the jaws of his helmet shut and followed with Shunpo.

* * *

'This is not Hell,' was the first thought of a Demon by the name of Kokuto. His second thought was, 'What the fuck is this thing?'

The thing in question was big, shapeless and _moving_. The former Togabito warily reached for his sword. Whatever it was, the thing was alive (for a given definition of life that included spirits like him) and seemed dangerous with those tentacles, claws, fangs and who knows what else. Holding the wickedly curved blade in both hands and trying his best to ignore the pounding headache, Kokuto slowly inched away ready to escape at a moment's notice. The shadow travel was hard, especially in the state he was in, but if worse came to worst…

"And what are you going to do with that sword?" the thing asked derisively in a vaguely familiar voice.

Startled, Kokuto lost his grip on the shadows and nearly stumbled cursing his current weakness.

"Oi, don't tell me you don't recognize me!" the thing yelled indignantly and started shrinking quickly taking on a humanoid form.

The thing became a white-clad man with two swords at his waist and four tawny wings sticking from his back. The writhing purple tendrils grew from his wrists and a layer of glistening glass-like substance covered his feathers and black hair. His legs below knees took the shape similar to the tree roots.

"Wait, Kaien?" the surprised Demon asked lowering his weapon.

"And you know _so many_ shapeshifters… Of course it's me!" his companion snapped. 'You moron,' went unheard but remained almost tangible in the air.

The former Togabito shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs that seemed to cling to his mind but groaned at the sudden wave of dizziness. "What happened?" he bit out.

The Espada run his clawed hand through his needle-like hair with a scowl. "Why are you asking me? I don't even remember how we met!"

"What do you mean you can't remember?" the white-haired man growled. "We-" he paused as his eyes widened. "…But I _know_ you!"

The shapeshifter studied the odd form that his legs chose to take and tried to transform them into normal shape. After several unsuccessful attempts he turned his attention to the Demon. "Same here. I know who you are and I know that I trust you, but anything else…"

Kokuto dragged his hand over his masked face. "Great. What _do_ you know then?"

The Arrancar had finally managed to get rid of his wings though one of his arms became similar to the serrated scythe of a praying mantis. Kaien scowled at his uncooperative body. At least his legs looked normal now. "I know that we are in the Living World," he said gesturing at the nearby buildings and the people who were unable to see the two spirits, "but I have no idea where exactly. Doesn't look like Karakura though."

The Espada paused then continued, "We should find someone who knows what happened, so…" with one swipe of his hand he opened a rip in space, "…where to? Seireitei? Las Noches?"

The Demon narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Are you sure you can direct it?"

Kaien gave him a withering look and surreptitiously tried to get rid of his tentacles. He almost succeeded too. "Of course I can!"

"Just like you can change your shape?" Kokuto deadpanned with a pointed look at his blade-like arm.

The white-clad Arrancar bristled, in his irritation somehow managing to return to human form completely. "I'll show you!" he snapped lunging at the Demon.

Still feeling more than a bit dizzy, the former resident of Hell dimension was unable to dodge, and yelled indignantly as his companion hauled him into the Garganta. "Where are you dragging me, you bastard?"

"Menos Forest!"

"What?" Kokuto yelped. "Why there?"

He was answered with a wide grin. "Because I'm hungry, of course. We are going Hollow-hunting!"

* * *

_A/N: I hope the readers are less confused than the characters even though writing them this way is a lot of fun._

_'Yugo' (融合) means 'Fusion', I'll explain it in future chapters in more detail, but it's the Bankai form of a Zanpakuto fused with Shinigami. It is much weaker than normal Bankai but has several benefits which I'll also explain later. In this form Renji looks like more humanoid Hihio Zabimaru only with tail instead of legs. Rukia can still freeze things but her touch is not deadly, hence why she could touch Orihime._

_'Togabito' (咎人) means 'sinner' (literary 'criminal'). They are the souls that are too evil for Soul Society so they get sent to Hell. Kokuto was a Togabito. He is a character from the fourth movie 'Hell Chapter'._

_Sorry about fragment with Rukia and Orihime being shorter than the rest, I'll try to give them more attention later. Oh, and 'Bleach' is not mine, who could've guessed?_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: **WARNING! Spoilers for the last manga arc aka 1000-year Blood War!**_

_Thanks for the reviews! Oh, and I edited the previous chapter slightly, nothing big, just a couple of words._

_**Isame Kuroda:** I know how the pairing you don't like can ruin the fanfic, so no, no shipping in my story. Well, maybe mentions of past canon pairings (like Kaien/Miyako) but nothing else. I prefer everyone as friends/family anyway._

**_LunaBianca:_**_ Ah, I apologise. I sometimes assume that everything I know the other people know as well. To warn you in advance, there will be mentions of Zanpakuto Rebellion arc and the story is tied to Hell Chapter movie (those were the only ones I've actually seen). But since it is an AU of quite a lot of canon plot points, I was going to put a lot of explanations anyway. Can't explain everything at once since it would kinda kill the mystery, but if something bothers you, feel free to point it out and I'll try to elaborate in later chapters._

**_CelestialxXxAngel:_**_ For the main characters it's after the Quincy arc, for everyone else... well, the story does have 'time travel' in its name._

**_Tahaku:_**_ Sorry, no pairings here, but if you want IchiHime, I'm writing a oneshot now, and its kinda turning out this way. I think, I'll finish it soon enough._

_Now, onwards to the story! And 'Bleach' does not belong to me, if it was, some of the characters I liked wouldn't have been killed._

* * *

Chapter 2: Talking to the Voices in Your Head

Each burst of Sonido caused a painful stab of headache and Ichigo glowered jealously at Ishida and his floating platform of reishi. He briefly toyed with the idea of using a similar method of transportation but he had always sucked at reishi manipulation-

**'Or Quincy powers in general,'** Tensa oh-so-helpfully added from within his mind.

-and considering that right now he couldn't even _seal his Resurreccion_, it was better to stick with tried and true flash step. …Maybe he should try to power down first? Perhaps without horns his head would feel less heavy…

**'When did you become such a pansy, King?'** the annoying voice of his Hollow snickered.

'Somebody, _please_, shut him up!' Ichigo growled fighting the urge to descend into his Inner World and throw a couple of Ceros at the albino. 'I'm _so_ not in the mood for your comments right now, Tensa!'

**'Jeez, what's your problem?'** the Hollow grumbled then yelped, **'Hey, lemme go!'**

_'Ichigo asked to shut you up,'_ a sly voice of his Zanpakuto commented.

**'Like hell you will!'** he snarled back.

At the following sounds of a scuffle and things breaking Kurosaki growled, 'Don't you dare destroy anything there! I don't need any more of a headache!'

He was answered with the sound of swords clashing, glass breaking and the whine of a charging Cero. However the fight quickly ended with twin yelps of surprise and vehement cursing from the Hollow. Curious as to what – and how – could stop the avatars of his Shinigami and Hollow powers – though he had his suspicions – Ichigo concentrated and felt the time slow down before it stopped completely. With practiced ease he stepped into his Inner World and glanced around.

The destruction that greeted him inside his mindscape was an unwelcome sight though the one Ichigo was expecting. Unexpected was the state the spirits of his Zanpakuto and Hollow were in. Both were pinned to the side of the building with glowing arrows that pierced through their white clothing. The trapped spirits were glaring daggers at Zangetsu but the unflappable Quincy was not affected in the slightest though he had yet to lower his bow.

Ichigo shook his head at the scene and thanked the dark man for stopping the two before addressing them with a scowl, "The hell is wrong with you?"

_"Too many things to count,"_ the Zanpakuto said dryly with a look at the Hollow.

**"Pot, ever looked in the mirror?"** he snapped back.

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Honestly, I expected this from Tensa…" The albino rolled his eyes. "…But you? Why the hell were you fighting, when our mindscape is already half-destroyed?!"

The Zanpakuto spirit nearly said something like 'He started it!' but bit his tongue realizing how lame of a comeback it was. Instead he tried to look as composed as usual – not an easy task considering the circumstances – and replied in a measured tone, _"It is quite possible that the damage done to our mind is affecting my judgment…"_

The Hollow's cough sounded suspiciously like 'bullshit'.

_"…And it is impossible to exist in such close proximity to Tensa without at least **trying** to punch him,"_ he finished with a smirk.

Ichigo burst into laughter and even Zangetsu was hiding a smile. The Hollow groaned at their reaction, **"Feeling the love already."**

With a smirk the embodiment of Ichigo's Quincy powers let his bow and arrows dissipate thus freeing the two spirits. The Zanpakuto dusted his clothes off then hid his long-nailed hands in the pockets assuming his usual stance that practically oozed with arrogance. The Hollow scowled at him and sat cross-legged on the ground throwing stray locks of his waist-length hair behind his back.

Ichigo shook his head at the antics of his companions, the previous irritation all but forgotten, but frowned at the destruction surrounding them. Under his gaze the broken glass and metal moved by itself, repairing the side of a skyscraper his inner spirits had damaged until it was as good as new. It was a natural process and one he was quite accustomed to, considering how often the fights broke out. Quite worrying though was the fact that the damage caused by the mysterious event had yet to be restored.

Jumping to stand high in the air, Ichigo took a better look at his mindscape. As usual, upon entering his Inner World he landed right in the middle of it. Turning his back to the urban landscape that was unquestionably _his_, the orange-haired young man looked at the three quarters of his mindscape that belonged to the other residents of his soul.

To his right the buildings gave way to trees, the lush green forest where Zangetsu preferred to dwell stretching on to the horizon. To his left were the gray desert sands and crystal trees similar to those outside his body. The Hollow had always liked the simple landscape of Hueco Mundo. Right in front of him the calm blue ocean stretched out with broken columns his Zanpakuto liked rising from the water.

However those parts were damaged as well. Long gashes carved into the desert dunes were yet to fill with sand, many of the trees in the forest were broken as if after the storm and the ocean was impossibly shallow, the low-tide exposing the floor.

Ichigo shook his head. He'd seen far worse destruction after their training fights, so why was it refusing to heal…?

The smooth voice of his Zanpakuto interrupted his thoughts._ "The damage was done on a much deeper level. What you see here are the symptoms, not the disease."_

"Can you repair it?"

_"While my abilities involve the manipulation of the mind, it is preferable to let it heal on its own. My invasion of your memories may prove to be detrimental."_

"_Our_ memories," Ichigo corrected testily but slumped in defeat. "Fine, I guess I'll just have to wait." This strange amnesia was getting on his nerves and frankly, he was beginning to worry. He knew how powerful they were, so what in the world could do such a number on them?

Shoving those thoughts away as he remembered his other problem, Kurosaki vanished in a blur of shunpo reappearing beside his bleached white reflection. "Oi, Tensa, get rid of our Resurreccion."

The Hollow smirked. **"And you can't do this yourself why exactly?"**

"You know damn well why!" Ichigo snarled.

The usual grin widened. **"Pansy. Can't even deal with a little headache, ne, King?"** Tensa ducked the punch thrown his way and let out a theatrical sigh. **"Well, since you ask _so_ nicely…"**

Ichigo felt the flow of Hollow energy lessen considerably as Tensa retracted his powers. He knew that the moment he returned to his body, the Resurreccion would crumble. With a nod of thanks to the albino, he glanced around with a frown. Something else was missing…

As his gaze fell on the shadow of a building, Ichigo nearly jumped. "What about _him_?"

"Still asleep," Zangetsu replied from his usual perch on a flagpole.

The young hybrid sighed in relief but frowned, running one hand through his long orange hair. How in the world could he forget about the newest resident of his soul…? As he paid his surroundings a little more attention, he could see the shadows that had nothing to do with any source of light. The tendrils of darkness crept across the streets, wound around the trees both real and those made of stone alike and sank into the water, stretching over the ocean floor.

Reaching to the nearest shadow, Ichigo let his fingers brush the darkness. The power hidden within it felt sluggish, unlike the strong currents his Shinigami, Hollow and Quincy aspects carried. Of course, it was no surprise that the avatar of his Demonic powers was deep in slumber. Wait, _why_ exactly was it so…?

With dawning horror Ichigo realized that he had no idea whatsoever why his Demonic self was so exhausted. He couldn't even remember how he got those powers in the first place! A quick question to his companions confirmed that they had no idea either. With a deep frown Ichigo pressed his hand to the inky blackness. He was sure that the memory loss was somehow connected to his Demonic powers and, by extension, to Hell but…

_/"Scream for me, little boy," the female voice giggled. "I want everyone to hear what happens to those who dare to oppose me."/_

What. The fuck. Was _that_?

With wide eyes Ichigo jerked back, almost stumbling, but the shadows clung to his skin carrying the disjointed memories within.

_/The light burned through his skin and her smile turned sadistic at the sight of his exposed bones./_

Who was that woman?

_/"Isn't it so very fitting for the Goddess of light to destroy the Demons of darkness?"/_

Goddess..?

_/"I am the Sun, little boy, the Sun of the damned, and this entire world is **mine**!"/_

A kick to the back had sent him tumbling, but at least it stopped the disgusting voice. Drawing sharp breaths Ichigo tried to calm down and raised his head looking at the concerned faces of his companions.

**"Feeling better, King?"** Tensa, the one to shake him out of the strange trance, had asked.

"No," he rasped. "Who was she?"

The three spirits had free access to his thoughts as usual but the voice and the smile of the mystery woman – /_enemy, enemy, she was a monster wrapped in sunlight/ _– were not familiar to them. It seemed that the only one who held the memories was the avatar of his Demon powers… who was also very inconveniently asleep.

Ichigo gritted his teeth and reached into the darkness again. He _needed_ those memories…!

_/The skeletal monsters moved through the buildings like ghosts they definitely weren't./_

Kushanada, Hell's Will, the sentinels and guardians of Hell dimension. The knowledge was dry and empty. He couldn't remember where he got it, how he learned about…

_/The orange lava coalesced into a familiar figure. The man grinned, "Told you, we just get reborn again and again."/_

The souls too evil for Soul Society got send to Hell where they would suffer for eternity. Togabito, sinners, trapped in a vicious cycle of death and rebirth, chained to the dimension itself, it would never let them go…

No, not true, not anymore.

_/The chains broke and the startled man looked in wonder at the shadows coalescing at his feet. "…How?"/_

Those souls who truly repented for their sins would lose their chains and become Demons. And once they died, the Demons would be reincarnated as humans in the World of the Living. Then why were there only sinners in Hell…?

_/"They are here, little boy. Every Demon that stood against me, that is, all of them, is here." With angelic smile that was rotten to the core she patted the large crystal filled with swirling darkness. "And of course, I can't let any more of them to be born, now, can I? The Togabito will stay the way they are now. Why should such a silly thing like 'repentance' give them freedom? No, no, little boy, they are **mine** now, and **I **decide what to do with them."/_

Who _was_ that woman? The name was just on the tip of his tongue, if only he could remember…

_/"I swear, I will stop you!"_

_"As if you can, little boy! I am the Goddess!"/_

What happened…? He had to remember…!

_/The crystal shattered under his sword and the inky shadows pouring out of it threatened to drown him./_

Was _this_ how he got the powers of a Demon…?

_/"No, you can't stop me! I am the Goddess of Sun! You can't destroy my light!"_

_"If you are the light, then I'll gladly become the darkness to stop you."/_

The flow of memories finally ceased and Ichigo fell to his knees trembling slightly. Damn, was that all? He was left with more questions than answers. Why was he in Hell? Who was the Sun Goddess? Was she the reason for his memories being so screwy?

…Did he manage to defeat her?

The last question was the one he needed to find the answer to the most. The mystery woman was insane. What if she was still out there somewhere….?

"We will find out, Ichigo," the embodiment of his Quincy powers said placing a hand on his shoulder. With a sigh Ichigo grasped the edge of the cloak fluttering on nonexistent wind and pressed his back to the old man's legs. He stayed like this for several minutes trying to put his rampant emotions under control. Finally the young hybrid rose to his feet sending a feeling of gratitude to Zangetsu and turned to the other two spirits standing nearby.

_"I will start the search immediately,"_ the Zanpakuto assured. _"However, I must warn you that you might experience flashbacks of any memory I touch. Also, you have to refrain from calling upon my powers as it might hinder my work."_

Ichigo nodded. "Sure. We are in Hueco Mundo anyway. It's easier to rely on Hollow abilities here."

Tensa looked at him with seriousness, the usual smirk gone. **"My power is yours, partner, you know it."**

With a slight smile he nodded. "I know."

Without further ado, Ichigo stepped back into his body and shook his head getting the dissolving pieces of his mask out of his orange mane. At the beginning, he usually cut off his hair to the more manageable length, but every time he entered Resurreccion it always grew back, so later he just stopped caring and got used to it. But now he had bigger problems than his untamable hair.

"Ishida. What do you know about Hell and Sun Goddess?"

* * *

_A/N: Wow, a__nother chapter so soon? If this is the result of my flu, I should get ill more often. Though I'm kinda surprised at what this fic is turning into. It was supposed to be a silly three or four chapters long story (I had the ending written and all) but it's becoming serious. And long. Oh, the horror! I hope I won't run out of inspiration before I finish it though._

_I wanted to give everyone a piece of the chapter like in a previous one, but Ichigo just **had** to go and hog all the spotlight. At least I managed to cram some plot here. Oh, well. __And I'm keeping Zanpakuto's name secret for now, though it's kinda obvious who he is._

_The mystery woman is an OC but she is evil and will be killed with extreme prejudice, so don't worry about her becoming a Sue._

_Till next time!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: __**Isame Kuroda:** Sorry for the confusion, hopefully the beginning of this chapter will clear things up a bit. I just don't want to explain things in the author notes if I'm going to put them in the story later. __And thank you for the offer, but it's not the lack of ideas I'm suffering from, it's putting them into words that gives me so much trouble._

_In case someone had forgotten, 'Tensa Zangetsu' (天鎖斬月) means 'Heaven Chain Slaying Moon'_

* * *

Interlude 1: Meaningless/Meaningful Names

The name didn't fit the Hollow at all, Ichigo decided. There was nothing heavenly about Tensa, and chains were certainly not involved. And yet, the albino continued to cling to the ill-fitting name for some reason. The same could be said about Zangetsu. While the avatar of his Quincy powers certainly looked the part of a 'Slaying Moon' with the glowing crescent of his bow against the fluttering cloak as dark as the starless sky, it didn't explain why the man chose not to use his own name. And he had a name – Juha-something – Ichigo overheard it once, so why…?

He knew of course, that both spirits would have been – _should have been_ – his Zanpakuto with 'Tensa Zangetsu' as the name of their Bankai, but he had a different Zanpakuto now, and that name was meaningless, so why were they still holding onto it?

From the closed expressions and smoothly redirected conversations, and the few clipped sentences he managed to wring from the two spirits, Ichigo understood that both Quincy and Hollow hated the time when they were bound by his father's Shinigami power, no matter how necessary it was for their survival. So when the rogue Zanpakuto joined their soul, the two rather happily dumped all that power on the newcomer. But if neither Tensa nor Zangetsu wanted to be a Zanpakuto in the first place, why did they choose to keep the name? Was it some sort of acknowledgement? Were they just used to that name or simply liked it…?

All the times Ichigo asked them, the answers he got were annoyingly confusing. They said it was a reminder. A reminder of _what exactly_, he wasn't sure about, but the two spirits refused to explain, saying things about trust and how Zanpakuto would always come to their Shinigami's help. Which made little sense because as far as Ichigo was concerned, the Hollow and Quincy were still his Zanpakuto in all but name, and _of course_ he trusted them. He didn't need to be reminded of it...!

...It would be years before Ichigo finally understood – the reminder wasn't for him, it was for them.

* * *

Chapter 3: In the Depths of Your Soul

"Snacks!" Kaien cheered at the sight of skyscraper-tall Gillians and immediately launched himself at the huge Hollows.

Despite being mindless, the low-level Menos could recognize danger quite well and tried to escape as fast as their lumbering bodies allowed. Unfortunately for them, the former Shinigami was _very_ hungry and _very_ fast. Numerous clawed tentacles burst from his sleeves and dug into giant black-clothed bodies, piercing their skin and devouring the Hollows from the inside.

In a few seconds there was no trace of six Menos Grande left.

As his two Zanpakuto dispatched of the eaten Hollows in his Inner World with practiced ease, Kaien felt all the souls accumulated by Menos leave his body in a cloud of reishi until only a fraction of their power remained. He left Nejibana and Glotoneria to sort through powers and memories he gathered from his impromptu snack though he doubted that any of the Hollows that made up the Gillians had any useful abilities he didn't already have. Then again, you could never know. Stranger things happened and even the most seemingly useless powers could come in handy…

The dark-haired Shiba frowned at the couple of tentacles sticking awkwardly from his sleeve and a patchwork of scales and feathers on his skin. It seemed like his shapeshifting was still out of whack. That never happened before and the only reason he could think of was- okay, he had no idea. Even years back when he was still a Gillian and his body shifted into default form under the influence of sunlight he never actually got stuck. So what the hell? He was a Vasto Lorde for crying out loud! And he thought he had complete control over his powers-

"Quit spacing out!" his Demonic companion yelled hitting the Arrancar over the head. "You got your damn food, now get us out of here!"

"Why?" the former Shinigami asked. "I like this place."

Kokuto let out a strangled sound. "Hello! Amnesia? Mysterious circumstances? Ring any bells? I thought we were going to find someone who knows what happened, not stay here with Hollows as a company!"

Kaien looked around. "No Hollows here right now… Well, except me, that is. And I got an idea. Gimme a second…" With those words he slipped into his Inner World knowing that truly only a moment would pass outside.

* * *

With a loud splash the white-clad Espada felt into the ocean of his soul sinking under the waves. A frown marred his face at the sight of a beautiful coral reef now mangled and eroded. He swam closer and ran his hand over the discolored structure. It didn't look like the damage from the usual fights between his companion spirits.

_"That's because it isn't,"_ the young female voice snorted behind his back.

"Reading my thoughts, Nejibana?" he asked turning around.

_"As if there is much to read,"_ the green-haired woman who looked barely out of her teens scoffed crossing her arms contemptuously.

"Aww, I'm hurt," Kaien whined with his usual goofy grin.

**"No, you are not,"** another voice said. **"But you soon will be."**

"You too, Glotoneria?" the Arrancar cried. "OH, MIYAKO, WHY ARE MY ZANPAKUTO SO CRUEL…?" he wailed earning smacks from both women. "…ALWAYS HITTING AND GANGING UP ON ME…!"

_"Quit yelling, you moron!" _Nejibana shrieked trying to hit him with her long tail.

Kaien dodged still sobbing theatrically. "…AND ALL THIS ABUSE…!"

**"Shut up!"** Glotoneria growled hitting her wielder over the head. **"Isshin's stupidity is contagious, and if I ever see you in his company again, so help me…!"**

Of course, this led to even more tears and wailing that he 'is not allowed to visit his dear uncle, why, oh, why are you so cruel?'

After the brief scuffle where the two spirits tried to beat some sense into him, Kaien turned serious once again. He swam to the bottom of the ocean and dove into the dark crevice, half-hidden between sharp rocks. With a worried glance at each other, the two Zanpakuto followed him into the depth of their shared consciousness.

Nejibana twisted her lithe form, sliding between the stone ledges. The last flashes of sunlight that somehow reached underwater reflected off her glittering aquamarine dress that became a layer of scales over her serpentine tail. Intent blue eyes followed every move of her wielder as they descended into the darkness though his white-clad form was harder and harder to make out. Very soon she lost the track of time as it seemed they were descending for eternity. She felt Glotoneria's presence nearby, but the other Zanpakuto was almost invisible in the darkness with her black hair and dark violet clothing. Both stayed silent, feeling no need for words, as they felt each other's worry. Of course, the easy companionship they had now was a far cry from their rivalry at the very beginning.

The two spirits didn't get along very well at first, their stubborn possessiveness souring any sort of relationship, though they did come to an understanding after a while. Kaien hated their constant fights and if there was one thing that both Nejibana and Glotoneria had agreed upon right away, it was that they both cared about their wielder. As such, they kept to their sides of the mindscape, deliberately not paying attention to each other and talking only if spoken to. That stalemate had continued for some time but was broken soon.

During his time as Noveno Espada, stuck near the one person he hated with all his soul and still not strong enough to do anything about it, Kaien needed all the support he could get. He stayed in the darkness of his quarters, hid his face under the mask not only from sunlight but from his so-called 'comrades', and spent more time inside his Inner World then outside because it took every shred of control from all three of them to not attack Aizen, even though their instincts rather loudly yelled that they had no chance of defeating the bastard. And yet, even that horrible situation had a silver lining – the three of them became much closer to each other than they ever thought possible…

Shaking off the memories, Nejibana noticed that they finally reached their destination. The pitch-black darkness was offset by the eerie glow of seaweed that grew from the rocky bottom of the crevice and yet did nothing to make it easier to see.

Kaien stopped, his feet almost touching the ocean floor, and glanced back at his companions. He did not want to be here, in a place where all the feelings and memories of his victims lurked.

It was the curse of his special ability. While he got rid of all the souls he ate, letting them pass on to Soul Society, parts of them remained behind. Their powers, skills, memories, feelings… All of them stayed inside him. He was in no danger of being taken over, but the remnants of so many different personalities could quite easily drive him insane. At the beginning it was hard to carve out his identity from the sea of memories, pushing the rest to the bottom of his mind, and even now his personality was a bit… slippery. Not quite 'Kaien' but close enough that the difference wouldn't matter... Unless he let the dregs of his soul to rise and drown him.

Usually, he could quite easily access the memories without going down there, but since the mysterious event messed it up somehow, he had to search the very bottom of his soul.

With a scowl, Kaien knelt on the sea floor and dug his fingers into the sand that felt more like tar, crawling up his arms and threatening to drag him down. Thankfully, he had quite a lot of experience dealing with the stuff, so he shook off the viscous liquid and the echoes of madness within, grasping the memories hidden underneath. He quickly disregarded those that belonged to the Hollows he ate, and concentrated on his own…

His life flashed before his eyes – his crazy family, Shinigami academy, Miyako (there was no pain, just dull ache as he remembered his wife), Ukitake, Rukia… His fight and fusion with Metastacia, his death (or what he thought was his death at that moment), reestablishing control, Hollow hunting… Getting eaten by Aaroniero and his subsequent takeover… Long years as an Espada, waiting for an opportunity to kill Aizen (he was so glad that the bastard was dead and gone!), busting out captured Orihime, eating Zommari (now _that_ was satisfying, not to mention he finally managed to become an Adjuchas and lose his weakness to sunlight)… Seeing Rukia again (it took quite some time to rid her of all that stupid guilt she carried), finding out he had three cousins now… The fight in Fake Karakura, capturing Barragan in Zommari's stolen Amor and eating him, becoming a Vasto Lorde… Trapping Starrk and Lilynette (one of the very few Arrancar he did not want to kill) and getting them out of the fight… The end of the Winter War, getting to know the new members of his family… Meeting his brother and sister again…

The memories continued through the rebuilding of Las Noches with Harribel to truce between Seireitei and Hueco Mundo to war against Wandenreich to defeat of the Quincy empire to-

* * *

"Oi, you okay there?" Kokuto asked as the former Shinigami returned from his Inner World.

"Y-yeah, sure, I'm al-alright, yeah, don't- don't worry," Kaien managed to say through chattering teeth. This way of searching through his soul had always left him feeling ill, as all the unwanted memories and feelings rose to the forefront of his mind.

"Sure looks like it," the Demon said with disbelief glaring at the pale and slightly trembling man before him. "Did it work? ...Whatever you wanted to do?"

Kaien dragged one hand through his black hair. "Yes, I- I remember now… We have to find the others. And quickly!"

The white-haired Demon frowned. "Why? What's so important?"

"Explanations later! Can you find the others through shadows?"

Kokuto threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "_What_ others? I don't remember any-fucking-thing!"

"Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Uryu, Orihime, Chad. They were with us when-" the Arrancar paused. "Can you find them?"

"When _what_? What the hell did you remember?"

"Kokuto! We have to find them! …Please."

The Demon sighed shaking his head. "Whatever."

With some effort he reached into the shadows letting intangible threads of darkness slither over his body. Closing his eyes, the man concentrated. The shadows whispered in his ears and tugged his mind, showing the images of dark-skinned giant and snake-like Shinigami rushing between stone trees.

"Chad and Renji are here," Kokuto said, his form still draped in shadows. "And I think Ichigo and Ishida are here somewhere too. The girls… Can't feel them."

"Which means they are not in Hueco Mundo. Damn." Kaien shook his head then grasped something from the thin air. It was two ribbons, one bright red, and the other white with grayish tint. "We better start moving. Can you keep up?"

The Demon growled with annoyance and slid into the darkness, becoming a shadow himself. "Just show me the way."

* * *

_A/N: ...I have no excuse whatsoever for Kaien's moment of Isshin-ism here. I blame coffee and the lack of sleep._

_I'm not really happy with how this chapter turned out. It feels sloppy, somehow. Meh, maybe I'll edit it later. Does the interlude feel awkward? I'm going to put those in the future chapters as well. They are moments that don't quite fit into the story, but take place in the same continuity and are too short to be called chapters._

_Speaking of the interlude. This is one of the moments that differs from canon. As far as I understood, in the manga, the Hollow merged with Zanpakuto, while the Quincy side was suppressing it. Here both Hollow and Quincy were bound by Shinigami power and warped into the shape of Zanpakuto. Neither were very happy ____about it _but couldn't do anything. Also, Ichigo trusted them both, but they didn't quite _trust themselves, knowing that they had... issues, what with one being a Hollow (if not quite a normal one) and the other a Quincy (and the enemy of both Shinigami and Hollows)._

___The ribbons are 'reiraku' or 'spirit ribbons' - visual manifestation of reiatsu. As I remember, Shinigami's are colored red, while human's are white. Not sure if it's canon or fanon, but the Hollow's reiraku are black. Since Chad is a Fullbringer, human with Hollow taint, I made his ribbon grayish in color._

___Not sure when I'll manage to write the next chapter, since the real life is kinda hectic right now, but I'll try to post it as soon as possible._


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